Stars & Ice

My name is Ellie Tungilik, and I come from Gjoa Haven in Nunavut. I came to Nunavut Arctic College to try something new, working in metals.

I love to draw, and I am now discovering enamels.

Enameling is new to me — it’s very different from drawing. With enamels, you go through different stages, from making the design on a metal plate, to sprinkling the glass powder onto the metal, to melting it into glass in the kiln. Pulling the fired piece out of the kiln is like taking food out of the oven! Enameling lets me play with lots of different colours, it’s very different from drawing and using pencils.

I like looking up at the stars, they are so beautiful in the night sky, and I like looking at the falling stars too….

…how fast they fall, the design in the sky they make as they’re falling. And then they disappear.

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My name is Kaleigh Tagak, I come from Iqaluit in Nunavut. I am an artist, I love working in watercolour. I came to Nunavut Arctic College to try to apply my art skills to metalwork.

Holding jewellery-making tools (saws, punches) tools is a lot different than working with a paintbrush, you have to hold them differently than a paintbrush or pencil. It requires a different motion to create the piece in metal.

With watercolour painting, and when I draw, I tend to think of the story behind it. For example, if I’m drawing characters, I think of backstories for them, why they do what they do, or feel, or think. When I’m working with colour, I like trying to blend colours together that would normally contrast.

This is my painting about the legend of Sedna. This is a creation story about the goddess of the sea.